Today, I bring you a short flash fiction, an odd reworking of the Pied Piper tale…
The Children of the Plague Doctor
The light tap, tap of leather shoes against the cobblestones broke the silence of the night, mixing with harsh muffled breaths and the faint swish of a cape. The warmth of candlelight in the windows lit his way through the village, and beneath his beaked mask he smiled.
They thought the flames would ward against his revenge.
No, his justice.
It’s not as if they hadn’t consented to his payment, yet they still saw fit to cheat him of his gold. They wanted his talents to cure the disease ravaging the village, but expected him to starve for his efforts. This was his livelihood. He would have to make an example of this village to survive.
They would pay, but not the way they agreed.
He stopped in the village square, adjusting his cape before sitting on the stone edge of the communal well. A crow flew down and perched beside him, flapping its wings with a caw. He stroked the feathers on its head.
“I know, I know, but it must be done. If I walk away, word will spread. Other villages will cheat me. They made their choice.”
Another caw from the crow, a disapproving sound.
“Do you think I enjoy this? I saved their children from the plague. To do this now?… It is horrible, but they should have paid me for my services.”
The crow folded its wings and bowed its head. He sighed in agreement.
“Yes, so be it.”
He rose and stomped a foot against the cobblestones. The ground trembled, the vibration reaching throughout the village. Deep in his throat a hum bubbled, reverberating inside his mask before exploding into a musical intonation that oscillated in time with the earth. It sought out every house, every child, returning the plague he had cured a thousandfold. Within minutes every child in the village lay dead.
But it did not end there.
For the dead awoke, ravenous, craving the taste of the living. Small fresh corpses swarmed, feasting on the flesh of their families, their neighbours. He closed his eyes as he listened to the screams, waiting through the night as the undead devoured the village. Only then, when no one lived, did the undead fall, and all was silent as the grave. Only then came the tap, tap of leather shoes against the cobblestones as he walked away.
But before he left the village forever, he nailed a small sign to a post at the entrance of the hamlet.
Quarantine. Do Not Enter.
Condemned by the Plague Doctor.
Thanks for joining in today for October Frights, be sure to keep hopping for the other participants’ posts. And remember there’s our mini book fair and our book giveaway (which runs all month) to browse, and don’t forget to enter the Halloween Horrors Giveaway. Check them out below.
October Frights Giveaway
Book Fair
And to keep on Hopping, check out all the participants.
Camilla Voiez, British Horror Author
Angela Yuriko Smith: Exercising My Writes
C.L. Cannon’s Halloween Horrors Fan Giveaway!
Enter for a chance to win print copies of All Hallows by Christopher Golden, Till We Become Monsters by Amanda Headlee, It by Stephen King, The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland, plus 4 horror baddie bookmarks, Horror Story candle, No Brains Before Coffee mug, The Shining Overlook Hotel keychain, Scream Ghostface sticker, and Hannibal Eat The Rude button pin.
Be Afraid of the Dark 
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